Vans SK8-Hi

Unisex

I bought my pair of Vans SK8 Hi's last week and they've arrived today, as expected, in pitch perfect shape. At first, I was wide eyed with excitement at the sight of my new shoes. However, there were a couple of chores that I came across which didn't diminish my enjoyment of them as much as postponed it. First is the lacing. Don't try to bar lace these particular high tops. Instead, do the criss-cross way as demonstrated on the pictures right here on Zappos. Second, don't tie it all the way to the last hole. Why? Because it will be a pain if not impossible to put them on. This is a very tight shoe. Not uncomfortable, but tight around your foot. In my case, I had to leave the top two rows alone to achieve the perfect balance between the practicality of putting them on and the length of the laces when I tied them up. And now finally we come to the shoe itself. Vans has always been setting standards of skate shoes, but the Sk8 Hi is a shoe that can be worn seemingly anywhere. The closest I can get to comparing it with another shoe would be the Chuck All Stars, however this shoe feels much sturdier and durable. I also advise to wear it with regular socks, not short ones simply because if you start getting sweaty it will get sticky down there because of the leather. As far as style goes, to each his own, but I always appreciated the old school look of Vans. They bring up memories of shoes I've worn in the past and yet make it contemporary enough to turn some heads. It is the fusion of the old and the new, the pioneers and the rookies, and it works all too well. I wear Chuck's in 9 so I bought these in 9.5 and they fit perfectly. I strongly recommend these to anyone who appreciates practicality over complexity.

Zappos sent me a completely WORN ITEM in the wrong size with absolutely no remorse!!!!! Will never spend another dollar here! These photos are exactly how they arrived !

I'm a longtime Converse wearer but decided to switch to Vans because they seemed a bit sturdier. They did feel less flimsy than chucks and I really liked the style- I got black on black and they went with everything, were comfortable and didn't require any break-in time. However, less than 6 months of not particularly strenuous wear (I wore them about 6 days a week as just a regular walking around shoe- I don't skate, and I wore other shoes for working out and hiking) they have a hole in the toe and a hole in the insole. I was really happy with these when I got them but am hesitant to buy another pair if they're going to wear out this quickly.

I love these shoes, I have narrow feet and it's hard to find shoes that fit right. I mountain bike, hike, and climb trees amongst other outdoor activities. These shoes work great for me all around. The only thing I do to improve these is put in an insole, because they lack a little padding for my taste.